MILWAUKEE (Map, News) – A bacterial strain that killed more than 1,000 dogs in outbreaks in Las Vegas and Miami has been found in some of the seven dogs that were stricken and died at a Wisconsin shelter, officials said Friday.
Hurley said the bacteria seems to affect dogs of all kinds and ages, and she couldn’t rule out cats as being susceptible to it. One cat in Las Vegas seemed to have symptoms, but there were other causes of deaths at that shelter at the same time, and the cat’s death wasn’t investigated further, she said.
The three outbreaks likely aren’t connected. Hurley said the strain seems to be a spontaneous mutation.
Lynn Olenik, executive director at the Waukesha County shelter, said seven dogs died from April 22 through Wednesday. She said two other dogs with early symptoms responded to antibiotics and she expects them to survive. No other dogs or other animals at the shelter seem to be affected.
The facility stopped taking new dogs or adopting dogs out on Monday, Olenik said. She said it could be another two or three weeks before those activities resume.
One dog had a fever of 107.4 degrees, she said. Read Full
